Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

First off, let's not beat around the bush. Disable the auto-save. Auto-saving is probably the one weapon a player has against anything a game may unfairly do to him (or her).

This game lets you save easily (and manually). Press the Start button and choose a slot.

Being able (and willing) to manually save when you've done something right lets you quit (without saving) in case something untoward happens to your mercenary after the fact -- like dying so you need to get all yoru weapons back, or if you accidentally kill a High Value Target you wanted to verify alive.

You can even exploit the manual save by walking right up to a Target of Opportunity belonging to faction friendly to your merc, lay waste to everything (and everyone), save the success of that mission, and quit the game before the faction can reduce their friendliness meter. How's that for power?

Simply put -- if you are unable to utilize this power ability to save anywhere, you'll probably wind up screwing yourself out of more money than you care to lose.

The Big Picture and Three Little Ones

The main goal of a mercenary is to make lots of money so they can retire before they die. Since your mercenary just got screwed out of a big payday (the $100 Million from a few years ago obviously got spent), you're now out for revenge.

A merc will want to be paid, but there's also a reputation to protect. Get screwed by one dead-beat and the rest of them will follow.

Hunting down your former paymaster however, isn't easy. Venezuela is a big place, and the mo'sucker has a bunch of dedicated goons drafted to protect his body from being turned into chum. This means your merc needs to squeeze information out of the local residents in power.

There are three mercs you can play as, all of whom seem to play remarkably alike on the surface. However, there are subtle differences:

Chris Jacobs

"Mind if I borrow this?!"

Formerly the "tough guy", now he's just the "weapons guy". Chris Jacobs can stock 20% to 33% more small arms ammunition. Although one rocket for an RPG may not be much, when you consider he can lug around 900 rounds for his light machinegun, you pretty much can have a load of fun without exposing yourself.

Jennifer Mui

"I ruin more suits this way."

Formerly the "stealth chick", this Anglo-Asian psychopath is now the "speed demon". Jennifer can sprint faster than the other mercs, which can lead to some interesting "I wasn't here when that airstrike killed your buddies" scenarios. Call in an airstrike and have her speed around a corner. Blameless murder made easier.

Mattias Nilsson

"This is an emergency! A Viking emergency!!"

Formerly the "speedy guy", this Swedish maniac is now the "tough guy". Like Chris Jacobs from the first game, Mattias is the beginner character. He can regenerate health much more quickly than the others. If you are not sure who to play first, play Mattias so you have a larger cushion of error.